We’re celebrating 30 years in the business
Cleddau Insurance Services Ltd have undergone some exciting changes that will further strengthen our position as a leading Insurance Broker in the West Wales region.
We have joined forces with the Lloyd & Whyte Community Broking Ltd who are part of the Lloyd & Whyte Group and The Benefact Group. This enables us to enhance our unique services and products on offer to our customers, helping us to continue being an integral business in our community.
Along with this news, we are also celebrating our 30th year in business with an array of customers across Carmarthenshire & Pembrokeshire and further afield. We are all looking forward to providing our insurance services for the next 30 years!
As you can imagine, many things have changed over the last 30 years or so since Andrew, Eirian and David decided to open the business. We thought it would be interesting to have a look at what has been happening in the world since we opened our doors back in 1993, and how things have changed.
Our new logo
In 2020, we changed our logo from this
to this
Our new logo represents the Cleddau bridge in Pembrokeshire. The white arch is the actual bridge (which is an icon for a bridge generally) the blue underneath is the Cleddau river, which is formed from two rivers (Western and Eastern), hence the reason for its split. The name Cleddau, comes from the Welsh word ‘cleddyf’ meaning ‘sword’ and possibly refers to the way in which both rivers ‘cut into’ the landscape of Pembrokeshire. The two tributaries unite to form the Daugleddau estuary and the important harbour of Milford Haven.
For us the fresh new design reflects our tight link to the area and our local heritage, with our ability to keep our support and advice relevant to the local community that we serve.
Internet, broadband, WWW (browser and html)
This is an aspect of technology that has revolutionised business over the last 30 years, not least our own sector of insurance. Indeed we utilise online Chat options on our website to facilitate a quick response. Many people have turned to using online quote tools.
While you may wonder if it’s necessary to use a broker rather than a comparison website for your everyday insurance cover, Cleddau insurance clients enjoy ensuring their peace of mind knowing that our policies are placed with A-rated insurers and backed up by our great service levels, expert knowledge and high standards of customer service. As brokers we have access to providers that don’t appear on comparison sites, and we provide better cover for a competitive price.
Technology and email
Of course the 1990ies were the era of The Spice Girls, The Game Boy, crimped hair and acid washed jeans. This decade saw a huge surge in the development of technology, much of which impacts us in terms of how we work today.
Did you know that the first text message (SMS) was sent in 1992 from a computer to a cell phone. It said, “Merry Christmas”. Typically, each day people send 18.7 billion texts to each other globally.
In 1996 Hotmail and Rocket Mail (later Yahoo! Mail) became the first free webmail services. In 1998 the word “SPAM” entered our dictionaries, not as a processed ham-based meat, but meaning Junk mail. The inspiration for using the term “spam” to describe mass unwanted messages is a Monty Python skit in which the actors declare that everyone must eat the food Spam, whether they want it or not.
From sending mail to managing financial transactions, technology has brought speed and efficiency to all aspects of our lives. At Cleddau, we use email regularly, for instance, to send policy documents, as this reduces the need to print and is a much greener approach.
However, the digital era has also brought with it a new way for criminals to operate digitally too. You could become a victim of extortion, phishing attacks, social engineering or your website could get hacked. More than half (54%) of SMEs in the UK had experienced some form of cyber-attack in 2022. Fortunately, we can offer cyber insurance to help to protect your business.
Pembrokeshire
Our home county of Pembrokeshire has been rated by National Geographic magazine experts as the second-best coastline in the World. Our (mostly sandy) beaches are renown.
Parts of our local coastline have also been used in both TV and film. Freshwater West appeared in the final two Harry Potter films, as well as in 2010’s Robin Hood.
As well as being our hometown, Milford Haven (Aberdaugleddau in Welsh) is better known for the oil and gas refineries on either side of the town. It is one of the few places in western Europe able to accommodate the largest tankers. Milford Haven docks still retain some small commercial function but most of the docks have been given over to a marina and a marina village. Indeed, like us, Milford Marina celebrated their own 30th anniversary in 2021.
Carmarthenshire
One of our offices is based in this county, in the town of St Clears on the river Taf, surrounded by rolling grassland. Racing drivers Sir Malcolm Campbell and J. G. Parry-Thomas, both attempted world land speed records at nearby Pendine Sands. It is close to Carmarthen from whence the county takes its name.
As the oldest continually occupied town in the whole of Wales, Carmarthen has seen its fair share of changes over the years. It is the town where the legend of Merlin was born.
It is interesting to note that over the last decade, the population growth in Carmarthenshire has been higher than across the rest of Wales. It also has the largest decline from 2011 to 2021 (census years) in the percentage of Welsh speakers of any local authority area in the country.
PC/laptop computers and Mobile phones.
We wonder how many of you remember the cumbersome “brick-sized” car phones, which were around in the 1990ies. Indeed in high-end luxury cars, factor installed cellular telephones were a popular optional extra.
The year we started the popular mobile phones of the day included the Nokia 100 and NEC P100. In the late 1990s and early 2000s the mobile phone began to be more and more popular and soon reached the must-have status of mobiles today
Y2K Bug
Many feared that when the clocks struck midnight on January 1 ,2000, many affected computers would be using an incorrect date and thus fail to operate properly unless the computers’ software was repaired or replaced before that date.
There were many failures in January 2000, from the significant to the trivial. Many credit-card systems and cash points failed. Some customers received bills for 100 years’ interest while others were briefly rich for the same reason.
Today, so many computer systems use the same software that a single cyberattack could spread rapidly and cause chaos. And 20 years ago, we did not have automated just-in-time supply chains with their much greater vulnerability. Fortunately, as mentioned above, we can access Cyber insurance to help protect your business.
Agriculture
Over the last 30 years we have seen one of the oldest industries embracing technology for improved productivity and efficiency. Artificial intelligence, analytics, connected sensors, and other emerging technologies could further increase yields and help to build sustainability within all aspects of farming.
More sophisticated, digital tools are being developed to allow better risk management, variability control and improve yields. We can see several aspects of farming being transformed, from smart-crop monitoring, drone farming to autonomous farm machinery.
Of course this all impacts on insurance needs both in terms of the value of equipment and the type of risk cover needed.
Post-Covid
We have seen a big change in how businesses operate and it looks as if hybrid working is now here to stay. More than 8 in 10 workers who had to work from home during the coronavirus pandemic said they planned to hybrid work.
This has implications on your insurance, for example does your contents insurance cover company-owned equipment in an employee’s home? Risk factors may include IT security vulnerabilities, employment law discrepancies, and perceived health and safety failings for remote working arrangements.
Property prices
Whether it’s commercial properties or a private residence, property prices have always fluctuated. The property market has been changing dramatically in recent years with house prices soaring and rental prices following suit.
This is mainly due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, a rise in consumer purchasing, help from the government such as via their “Right to Buy” and “Help to Buy“schemes, overseas money and inflation.
Over more recent years, prices have increased faster, due to the fact that Brexit, the War in Ukraine, and general economic turbulence has seen the cost of building materials escalate rapidly. This has led to may buildings being underinsured, so it’s worth ensuring that yours has an up-to-date valuation.
According to research carried out by Rebuild Cost Assessment Ltd1, around 83% of commercial properties are under insured, both inside and out and on average, underinsured buildings are covered for just 66% of the amount they should be2. They estimate that underinsurance total for all UK commercial properties currently stands at around £375 billion3. Failure to conduct regular valuations was given as the most common reason for this.
Here’s to the next 30 years
It’s apparent that there have been a lot of changes over the last 30 years and no doubt we will see many more changes yet to come. But whatever the future has in store, we look forward to continuing to provide the best in cover, service and choice we can.
1Data derived from 26,861 Rebuild Cost Assessments completed between Sep ‘21 and Aug ‘22.
2Estimate based on Zoopla data on UK homes with a market value exceeding £1m – Figures according to a survey conducted by RebuidCostAssessmet.com in 2019 https://www.rebuildcostassessment.com/
3Estimate based on British Property Federation (BPF) data on UK commercial real estate
